Months upon months of US military buildups in the Middle East, all around Iran, combined with near-constant threats to attack Iran outright have sure been raising regional tensions, but according to US Centcom commander Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, it is not believed to be deterring Iran.
To be clear, deterrence in this case means reducing the US-perceived “threat” posed by Iran, and with US officials, particularly military officials, constantly seeing Iran’s threat increasing, this should not be a surprising turn of events. As ever, expensive deployments against a US regional rival are being seen by military officials as justification for more deployments going forward.
Gen. McKenzie is making a point to predict Iran attacking “again” while reiterating the US blaming Iran for Yemeni drone strikes on Saudi Arabia, which Iran has denied any involvement with. This same putative Iran attack was the justification for a lot of the US buildup, particularly US ground troops being sent to Saudi oil-producing regions.
McKenzie’s prediction of more things like that, which again is to say Yemeni attacks on Saudi Arabia that the US can blame on Iran, is particularly concerning both in that Iran has no control over that, and because the US has put 3,000 ground troops in Saudi Arabia, effectively human shields.
If a Yemeni drone strike causes US casualties, and the US blames Iran, this immediately becomes another US case to start a war with Iran, something a lot of officials have been angling for for some time. McKenzie making this prediction in Israel further reflects Israel’s long-standing interest in getting the US sucked into that exact war.
McKenzie’s statement was followed by a visit to Israel by Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley, who was also emphasizing meetings with Israeli officials on the idea of an imminent Iran conflict.
Interestingly, French DM Florence Parly was also in the Middle East for the weekend, and spent her time criticizing the US for not having already started a war with Iran, suggesting that “US disengagement” from the region, which appears to refer to the Syrian pullout the US already reversed course on, and the lack of US attacks in response to things they blamed on Iran were destabilizing the region.
Parly’s position gives the impression France wants the US to attack Iran, which is not a great position for France as an active party in the P5+1 nuclear deal with Iran.
The Pentagon expressions of the US position don’t necessary portend any actions beyond the US continuing to build up in the region with the expectation of a war, and to interpret anything that they can conceivably blame on the Iranians as a pretext for such a war.
If there is one silver lining, it’s that Saudi attacks against northern Yemen, and Yemeni attacks against the Saudis, are both on the decline lately. This may mean the pretext has to come from something else than a Yemeni Houthi drone.
Bankruptcy is truly the only hope … otherwise, this madness will end us all.
Bankruptcy is what led to World War II. American and German. If you think bankruptcy is an agitator of favorable outcomes, you’re wrong. Consider whom the nation would be going bankrupt to.
I wonder about that. Wars like WWII are not possible any more. The strategy West is employing is 19th century gun boat diplomacy — with modern, aircraft carrier twist, and land-sea-air missile threat from the forward deployed positions. No focus on domestic defense as oceans are still considered sufficient obstacle.
But how relevant is this approach to global domination today? It assumes that nobody has capacity to threaten our soil, while we have forward capacity to threaten everybody else.
What will happen if our forward positioned naval assets are vulnerable to complete destruction in a span of few minutes by submarine drones? And our coastal forward positioned bases destroyed likewise? And our submarines, likewise?
As there are very few land based forward placed bases capable of destroying Russian or Chinese assets, for which they have both defensive capacities, as well as supersonic air capacity? Intercontinental ballistic capacity is not such a threat any more, as their speeds and trajectory are very predictable.
In reality, Russia and China will avoid war with US over Iran if at all possible.
But if forced into it, will not pussyfoot around it. Forward US positioning will be the key strategy. Both countries have same defensive strategy: to never allow wars to be fought on their land.
How will this be assured depends very much on the level of threat they perceive in Western obsession with Iran, and the resulting complete control of Gulf states,
Bankruptcy is what led to the end of the huge British and French empires post WW2 … or at least the obvious and militaristic form of empire. This is likely what’s in store for us.
Yes, there will be a lot of kicking around and gnashing of teeth, but the end of $ hegemony will be the step from which there will be no return. Very quickly, the US population will need to decide between Social Security and foreign bases and, in the long run, Social Security will win.
The US is trying to deter Iran? That is some contortied version of reality there.
Once you get to understand how groupthink works you see it everywhere in varying degrees. A minimal level of groupthink is perfectly fine. It’s the high degrees which stink. This general’s discourse and the way the media accepts it is an example of strong groupthink. The general is not above this groupthink. There is generally a degree of deception, but not much. Not in a big picture kind of way.
This Gen. Half-track is clearly nuts.
Likely false-flag capers from US/Saudi/Israeli axis of evil.
There is no way that this will end well. If indeed we are angling for war with Iran and Russia, that will be the end of the USA as a constitutional republic.
Actually, that already happened shortly after 9/11 with the passage of the USA Patriot Act and the first National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). That brought unlimited surveillance, indefinite detention, torture, and summary execution to the USA. We now are a plague on the planet always looking for more “terrorists” to destroy when in fact, we are the real terrorists.
Soon, the banksters will pull the plug on the US economy and we will become their “hewers of wood and drawers of water” in retribution for all the chaos, death, and destruction we have caused in the world.
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that will be the end of the USA as a constitutional republic.
Actually, that already happened shortly after 9/11
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It happened a loooooooooooong time before 9/11.
True, but after 9/11 we can’t even pretend anymore. It’s right out there in the open for the whole world to see.
If the will is there it is reparable but not easily.
Trump has the will But to many are against him
Trump has no idea what he’s doing. He governs by Tweet and gets his information from the teevee channels he trusts. He’s like your retired grampa – watches Fox News all day and bellows about how America is going down the tubes because blah blah blah.
For sure 1861 with the invasion of the Confederate States of America.
This is most likely a last ditch attempt at propping up Netanyahu. If you and I know that an Iran war would sink the US, they know it, too. They’re content to hack away at the periphery, looking for an opening to rush in and take free oil, minerals, etc. Speaking of the banksters, it’s no coincidence that Tesla’s stock jumped upon news of the coup in Bolivia. Air, water, oil, lithium, cobalt, tantalum, etc. It don’t matter…if neoliberalism needs it, they’re going to try and take it. Not interested in actual business or buying anything. Just take stuff at gunpoint if you have to…..
DJT won’t prop up Nutty&Yahoo, he already dumped the most corrupt PM in Israel’s 71.5 years in existence a few months ago, when Israel’s AG prepared to file bribery and other corruption charges against him. In fact, DJT never liked or trusted Nutty&Yahoo .. He merely pretended to like/trust him.
Some of us believe that the banksters, financial elites, and their cronies in gov’t who do their bidding have sown a great deal of chaos and misery their own damn selves.
Oh, it’s going to be a cakewalk – said the neocon when we had invaded Iraq
In order to deter car thefts our local car lots are putting the keys in the ignition and leaving the doors unlocked overnight.
“In order to deter car thefts our local lots are …” co-locating a police substation in the area, providing a 24/7 presence.
Fixed it for ya..
Right. A police station with no legal jurisdiction. But I know the neocon mind thinks the whole world IS our jurisdiction.
Maybe they’ll say the only way to stabilize the situation will be an unprovoked attack on Iran… pulling a full Orwell. Iran need not do anything to provoke it, the timing will just be set by when all US hardware is in a convenient spot to attack. Then there’s no shortage of things the US govt has already blamed Iran for they can say it’s a retaliation over.
In that first link, nice how the general used the past tense about Iran attacks, no proof necessary. And the mental gymnastics around Iran’s military spending – amazing! How nefarious of Iran to years ago increase their spending to a tiny fraction of what the US spends… and then most recently significantly decrease that spending… because the US gave them no choice we are told, because the author sees and knows all with his wild imagination and propaganda narrative. Iran’s aggressive intent is thus proven, along with the effectiveness of our non-aggressive “maximum pressure.”
Then there are the “mostly defensive” US military assets pouring into the region: an aircraft carrier strike group, fighter and bomber squadrons… by nature our aggressive posture by definition cannot be seen as provocative.
I’ve long put Gen. McKenzie and his hyped war pronouncements in the trash bin of no credibility; of course, he must hype the threat, it is what “they” do.
For a reminder how this individual thinks, look at his discourse to that symbol of “irrational” Iranian threats, the foundation for defense of democracies; mckenzie and pompeo elbow each other out of the way for top billing.
So have I, Taras. Gen. McKenzie’s a lunatic and very similar to Bonkers Bolton. That makes me wonder if McKenzie and Bonkers had been discussing all of this, before DJT fired him.
Iran’s a peaceful nation that hasn’t attacked its neighbors in 500 years .. but that doesn’t mean it won’d defend itself if attacked. The US/UK/Israel/Saudi Arabia will be the losers in this fight. Why? China and Russia are allied with Iran and will come to its defense if the US and its allies go on the offensive. Apparently, the idiot Gen. McKenzie hasn’t thought about the consequences of such an attack,
That makes me wonder if McKenzie and Bonkers had been discussing all of this, before DJT
firedhired him.100% guarantee of an attack on Iran by the US however. Also 100% guarantee of yet another “false flag” attack by “Iran” – aka Saudi Arabia, US, US, Israel or some other puppet, in order to justify attack on Iran by US/UK/Saudi Arabia/Israel consortium of death and destruction.
These are smoke signals designed to communicate to Wahhabists that now is the time for a false flag.
Attacking Iran is crazy idea.
Iraq Syria Libya Afghanistan,did getaway with it,but Iran! It’s not going to happen,why ? New Soviet Union returned,and Putin will not allowed that,and you can bet on it. Example : Syria,Annexation of Crimea,Ukraine.
If anyone contemplating attack of Iran this is what will happens;
Oil prices skyrocketed
No oil Shippments goes through Iran
And Russians will use bases in Iran to protect Iran,and as Iran indicated that Russian forces more then welcome on Iran,so make the math.
Head of these ideas is BIBI, offcourse. It would backfired for him,and that’s not a illusion.
well imagine my lack of shock that a trained psychopathic warmongering killer, that has never done anything other than make war his entire adult life, can only come to one conclusion about every foreign country, is that it must be preparing an imminent attack..
The US has a long history of false flag attacks, and provoking actual attacks by design. Pearl Harbor is just one of these events.
We are at it again. Do not buy their BS this time